The Coach

a delicate theme. and the right manner to show it. a handball coach. and a brilliant goalkeeper. a victory. and the night after. and the precise build of a painful certitude. "The Coach" is, first, a courageous film. and a good example to give the precise nuances to a drama who has high chances to be present in every youth collective.and this fact does the film of Lars Mikkelsen important. the delicacy to explore a not comfortable subject. the science to present the states of Niels- joy, fear, suspicion, trust, confusion, the impact with the truth.and the final scene. it is one of films -key to reality. and the care to suggest, to use the silence as basic tool, the looks, the gestures, the fall on the beach and the telephone call, the night before the great match, the return at home are pieces of a real special work.

This was an object lesson in grooming. And all the more controversial because the team was one of under-fourteens. Nonetheless it was handled sensitively yet unflinchingly at the same time. One is reminded of the scandals in the football world where predatory coaches preyed on youths too young to consent or deal with the ramifications of this behaviour.

Niels is clearly conflicted. He's straight, just won the Danish title with his team, wants to carry on. Yet the coach who steered them through this is an abuser. 2009 when the film was made is not yet the epoch when sportspeople were revealing all. The short was profoundly pessimistic in this respect as we see in the final shot of the team celebrating and Niels looks on from the outside.

This was well worth watching.